Big L

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For other uses, see
Young L
.

Big L
Big L in 1998
Big L in 1998
Background information
Birth nameLamont Coleman
Also known asL Corleone
Born(1974-05-30)May 30, 1974
Harlem, New York, United States of America
DiedFebruary 15, 1999(1999-02-15) (aged 24)
New York City, U.S.
GenresHip hop
Occupation(s)
  • Rapper
  • songwriter
  • record executive
  • record producer
Years active1992–1999
Labels

Lamont Coleman (May 30, 1974 – February 15, 1999), known professionally as Big L, was an American rapper.

underground hip-hop fans for his freestyling ability. He was eventually signed to Columbia Records, where, in 1995, he released his debut album, Lifestylez ov da Poor & Dangerous
. On February 15, 1999, he was fatally shot nine times in a drive-by shooting in Harlem.

Big L was noted for his use of wordplay, and writers at

The Source have praised him for his lyrical ability.[2][3] Henry Adaso described him as "one of the most talented poets in hip-hop history."[4]

In an interview with Funkmaster Flex, Nas claimed Big L "scared me to death. When I heard [his performance at the Apollo Theater] on tape, I was scared to death. I said, 'Yo, it's no way I can compete if this is what I gotta compete with.'"[5]

Early life

Coleman was born on May 30, 1974, in the

freestyling with other people in his neighborhood.[8][11]

Coleman began writing rhymes in 1990.[8] He also founded a group known as Three the Hard Way in 1990, but it was quickly broken up due to a lack of enthusiasm among the members which consisted of Coleman, Doc Reem, and Rodney.[12][13] No projects were released, and after Rodney left, the group was renamed Two Hard Motherfuckers.[12] Around this time, people started to refer to Coleman as "Big L".[8] In the summer of 1990, Coleman met Lord Finesse at an autograph session in a record shop on 125th Street.[14][15] After he did a freestyle, Finesse and Coleman exchanged numbers.[15]

Coleman attended

Julia Richman High School and graduated in 1992.[8] While in high school, Coleman freestyle battled regularly; in his last interview, he stated, "in the beginning, all I ever saw me doing was battling everybody on the street corners, rhyming in the hallways, beating on the wall, rhyming to my friends. Every now and then, a house party, grab the mic, a block party, grab the mic."[16]

Career

1992–1995: First recordings and record deal

In 1992, Coleman recorded various demos, some of which were featured on his debut album

Showbiz & A.G.'s Runaway Slave (1992).[14]

During this time, he won an amateur freestyle battle hosted by Nubian Productions which consisted of about 2,000 contestants.

Diggin' in the Crates Crew (DITC) which consisted of Lord Finesse, Diamond D, O.C., Fat Joe, Buckwild, Showbiz and A.G. In 1993, Coleman released his first promotional single, "Devil's Son", and later said it was one of the first horrorcore singles, influencing others. He said he wrote the song because "I've always been a fan of horror flicks. Plus the things I see in Harlem are very scary. So I just put it all together in a rhyme." However, he said he preferred other styles over horrorcore.[14]

Coleman founded the Harlem rap group

Nas, and Diamond D.[8] In 1994, he released his second promotional single "Clinic". On July 11, 1994, Coleman released the radio edit of "Put It On", followed up by the release of the music video three months later.[8] In 1995, the music video for the single "No Endz, No Skinz" debuted. It was directed by Brian Luvar.[19]

His debut studio album,

No Endz, No Skinz" did not chart.[23][24]

1996–1999: independent release

In 1996, Big L was dropped from Columbia mainly because of a dispute with the label over artistic differences.[25] [26] He stated, "I was there with a bunch of strangers that didn't really know my music."[27]

In 1997, he started working on his second studio album, The Big Picture.[28] COC folded when Bloodshed died in a car accident in New York on March 2, 1997.[29] Later that year, DITC appeared in the July issue of On The Go Magazine.[8] Coleman then appeared on O.C.'s single "Dangerous" from O.C.'s second album Jewelz.[30] That November, he was the opening act for O.C.'s European Jewlez Tour.[8]

In 1998, Big L formed his own

A Great Day in Harlem
.

Following the release of "Ebonics", Big L caught the eye of Damon Dash, the CEO of Roc-A-Fella Records. Dash offered to sign him to Roc-A-Fella, but Big L wanted his crew to sign as well.[34][35] On February 8, 1999, Coleman, Herb McGruff, C-Town, and Jay-Z started the process to sign with Roc-A-Fella as a group called "The Wolfpack".[8][36]

Death

On February 15, 1999, Coleman was killed in a drive-by shooting at 45 West 139th Street in his native Harlem. He was hit nine times in the face and chest.[37][38] Gerard Woodley, one of Coleman's childhood friends, was arrested three months later for the crime.[39] "It's a good possibility it was retaliation for something Big L's brother did, or Woodley believed he had done," said a spokesperson for the New York City Police Department.[40] Woodley was later released due to lack of evidence, and the murder case remains officially unsolved.[41]

Woodley was fatally shot in the head on June 24, 2016.[42][43] Woodley's family maintains his innocence in Coleman's killing.[44] Rapper Cam'ron, who was a close friend of Coleman and Woodley, posted a video to Instagram claiming Coleman had attempted to murder Woodley a week before his death.[45][46]

In 2017, Lou Black, Gerard Woodley's cousin, published Ethylene: The Rise and Fall of The 139th St. NFL Crew. The book details Black's first hand interactions with the NFL crew and Big L. In the book, Black claims Leroy "Big Lee" Phinazee, Coleman's eldest half-brother and leader of the NFL crew, violated his probation when he was found to be in possession of an illegal weapon and was sentenced to prison. According to Black, while in prison, Phinazee met and contracted a hitman from Brooklyn to murder three members of the NFL gang including Woodley. Phinazee had tasked Big L to identify the targets to the hitman. On the day when the murder was planned, Woodley noticed the hitman following him and successfully scared him off. As Big L had been seen multiple times with the alleged hitman days prior, Woodley assumed Big L had taken part in the attempted shooting. Approximately a week after the attempted shooting of Woodley, Big L was killed. Black did not specify if Woodley personally killed Big L.[47]

Big L is buried at George Washington Memorial Park in Paramus, New Jersey.[48]

Posthumous releases

The tracks "Get Yours", "Way of Life", and "Shyheim's Manchild"

Hot Rap Tracks,[24]
making it Coleman's first and only number-one single.

Coleman's second and final studio album, The Big Picture, was released on August 1, 2000, and featured Fat Joe, Tupac Shakur, Guru of Gang Starr, Kool G Rap, and Big Daddy Kane among others. The Big Picture was put together by his manager and partner in Flamboyant Entertainment, Rich King. It contains songs that he had recorded and a cappella recordings that were never used, completed by producers and guest emcees that Coleman respected or had worked with previously.[8]

The Big Picture debuted at number 13 on the

certified gold a month later for shipments of 500,000 copies by the RIAA.[53] The Big Picture was the only music by Big L to appear on a music chart outside of the United States, peaking at number 122 on the UK Albums Chart.[54]

Children of the Corn: The Collector's Edition, a compilation album containing COC songs, was released in 2003. Big L's next posthumous album, 139 & Lenox, was released on August 31, 2010.[55] Issued by Rich King on Flamboyant Entertainment, it contained previously unreleased and rare tracks.[55][56] The follow-up album, Return of the Devil's Son (2010), peaked at number 73 on R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.[57] Coleman's next releases were The Danger Zone (2011),[58] and an album called L Corleone, which was released on February 14, 2012.[59]

Legacy and influence

Henry Adaso, a music journalist for

About.com, called him the 23rd-best MC of 1987 to 2007, claiming "[he was] one of the most auspicious storytellers in hip hop history."[4] HipHopDX called Coleman "the most underrated lyricist ever".[13]
Many tributes have been given to Coleman. The first was by Lord Finesse and the other members of DITC on March 6, 1999, at the Tramps.[8] The Source has done multiple tributes to him: first in July 2000,[60] and then in March 2002.[61] XXL also did a tribute to Coleman in March 2003.[62] On February 16, 2005, at SOB's restaurant and nightclub in Manhattan, a commemoration was held for him.[63] It included special guests such as DITC, Herb McGruff, and Kid Capri.[63] All the money earned went to his estate.[63]

In 2004, Eminem paid tribute to Coleman in the music video for his single "Like Toy Soldiers". In an interview with MTV, Jay-Z stated: "We were about to sign him right before he passed away. We were about to sign him to Roc-a-Fella. It was a done deal…I think he was very talented…I think he had the ability to write big records, and big choruses."[5] Rapper Nas also said on MTV, "He scared me to death. When I heard that on tape, I was scared to death. I said, 'Yo, it's no way I can compete if this is what I gotta compete with.'"[5]

In 2017,

Royce da 5'9" said he believed Coleman would have been a "top 3" rapper all time if he had not been killed so prematurely.[64] In 2019, Funkmaster Flex said "People can get mad at me for saying this, but he was the best lyricist at the time. He was a better lyricist than Biggie and Jay-Z. He just didn't have the marketing and promotion. Let me go on the record and say that. It's the truth."[65] In 2022, the 140th Street and Lennox Avenue intersection in Harlem was co-named Lamont "Big L" Coleman Way.[66]

Style

"Ebonics"
In "Ebonics", one of Coleman's best-known tracks, he raps about the slang used in Harlem while he was growing up.
Problems playing this file? See media help.

Coleman is often credited in helping to create the horrorcore genre of hip hop with his 1992 song "Devil's Son."[14] However, not all his songs fall into this genre. For example, in the song "Street Struck," Coleman discusses the difficulties of growing up in the ghetto and describes the consequences of living a life of crime.[citation needed] Idris Goodwin of The Boston Globe wrote that "[Big L had an] impressive command of the English language", with his song "Ebonics" being the best example of this.[67]

Coleman was notable for using a rap style called "

Allmusic stated Coleman was "a master of the lyrical stickup undressing his competition with kinetic metaphors and a brash comedic repertoire".[69] On the review of The Big Picture, she adds, describing "the Harlem MC as a master of the punch line and a vicious storyteller with a razor blade-under-the-tongue flow."[26] Trent Fitzgerald of Allmusic said Coleman was "a lyrically ferocious MC with raps deadlier than a snakebite and mannerisms cooler than the uptown pimp he claimed to be on records."[70]

Documentary

A documentary Street Struck: The Big L Story was set to be released in 2017. Directed by a childhood friend and independent film director, Jewlz,[18] approximately nine hours of footage was brought in, and the film's planned runtime was said to be 90 to 120 minutes long.[34] Released on August 29, 2009,[18] the first trailer detailed that Street Struck would contain interviews from his mother Gilda Terry; his brother Donald; childhood friends E-Cash, D.O.C., McGruff, and Stan Spit; artists Mysonne and Doug E. Fresh; producers Showbiz and Premier; and recording DJs Cipha Sounds and Peter Rosenberg.[18] Put together by Coleman's brother Donald, a soundtrack was said to have been made for the documentary as well.[34] As of 2024, both the documentary and soundtrack have yet to be released.

Discography

Main article: Big L discography
See also: List of songs recorded by Big L
Studio album
Posthumous albums

See also

References

  1. ^ "Today in hip hop history: Big L was shot and killed 22 years ago". The Source. February 15, 2021. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
  2. ^ "The Source: Top 50 Lyricists [Magazine Scans]". Genius. Retrieved April 8, 2019.
  3. ^ Henry Adaso. "10 Great Rappers Who Died Too Young". About.com Entertainment. Archived from the original on December 5, 2016. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  4. ^ a b Adaso, Henry. 50 Greatest MCs of Our Time (1987–2007) Archived April 5, 2015, at the Wayback Machine. About.com. Retrieved August 27, 2011
  5. ^ a b c Fleischer, Adam. "Big L Would Have Been 40 Today: Here's How He Impacted Jay Z, Mac Miller And More". MTV News. Retrieved April 8, 2019.
  6. ^
    Allmusic
    . Retrieved November 5, 2011.
  7. ^ a b Paine, Jake (February 18, 2008). "Big L's Mother Passes Away". HipHop DX. Cheri Media Group. Archived from the original on June 28, 2011. Retrieved November 6, 2011.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o The Big Sleep (November 7, 2008). "Lamont 'Big L' Coleman Timeline". Big L Online. Archived from the original on May 2, 2012. Retrieved September 28, 2011.
  9. ^ Arnold, Paul (July 12, 2012). "Lord Finesse Says There Will 'Never' Be Another Big L Album". HipHop DX. Cheri Media Group. Archived from the original on January 21, 2012. Retrieved February 9, 2012.
  10. The Miami Herald
    . p. 1E.
  11. ^ a b Johnson, Brett (November 29, 2010). "Donald Phinazee on the life of Big L". Crave Online. Archived from the original on September 26, 2011. Retrieved September 21, 2011.
  12. ^ a b Soobax (November 20, 2009). "Donald Phinazee's Q&A – Part Two!". Big L Online. Archived from the original on January 18, 2013.
  13. ^ a b c d Udoh, Meka (February 15, 2007). "Remembering Lamont 'Big L' Coleman". HipHop DX. Archived from the original on December 15, 2011. Retrieved September 29, 2011.
  14. ^
    ISSN 1063-2085
    .
  15. ^ a b c "Big L: Bio". Rawkus Records. Archived from the original on March 31, 2001.
  16. ^ Coleman, Lamont (1998). "Big L's last interview (Oxygen FM in Amsterdam '98)". Oxygen FM (Interview). Amsterdam.
  17. ^ a b Hess (2010), p. 40
  18. ^ a b c d BigLOnline (August 29, 2009). "Big L Documentary Trailer (First Draft) – 'Street Struck: The Big L Story.' Coming Soon!". YouTube. Retrieved October 27, 2011.
  19. ^ "No Endz, No Skinz – Big L". Vevo. Retrieved November 7, 2011.
  20. ISSN 0006-2510
    .
  21. ISSN 0006-2510
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    MTV Networks. Archived from the original
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  23. MTV Networks. Archived from the original
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  24. ^ a b Big L > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles. AllMusic. Retrieved September 10, 2011.
  25. ^ "Big L Remembered: The 10 Best Verses From 'The Big Picture'". theboombox.com. February 15, 2017.
  26. ^ a b DiBella, M.F. "The Big Picture – Big L > Review". AllMusic. Retrieved October 31, 2011.
  27. ISSN 1465-4407
    .
  28. AllHipHop.com
    . Retrieved February 11, 2012.
  29. ^ "TODAY IN HIP-HOP: RIP BLOODSHED". XXL. March 2, 2015. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
  30. ^ "Dangerous: O.C." AllMusic. Retrieved November 9, 2011.
  31. ^ Park, April (September 13, 2000). "Big L: The Big Picture (Rawkus/Flamboyant)". Riverfront Times. Archived from the original on August 10, 2013. Retrieved February 5, 2012.
  32. ^ Jasper (1999), p. 2
  33. Viacom. Archived from the original
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  34. ^ a b c Donald Phinazee (November 10, 2009). "Big L's Brother Talks His Death and the New Album". Vimeo (Interview). Interviewed by Bill Starlin.
  35. ^ Hess (2010), p. 41
  36. ^ Herb McGruff (July 25, 2010). "Herb McGruff Jay Z & Big L Deal". YouTube (Interview). Interviewed by Mikey T.
  37. Viacom
    . Retrieved February 8, 2012.
  38. ^ "Violence and Hip Hop". BBC News. October 31, 2002. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
  39. MTV Networks
    . May 21, 1999. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
  40. Rolling Stone. May 17, 1999. Archived from the original
    on March 21, 2009.
  41. ^ Gray, Madison (September 13, 2011). "Big L – Top 10 Unsolved Hip-Hop Murders". Time. Archived from the original on September 23, 2011. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
  42. ^ Sommerfeldt, Chris. "Man suspected of killing hip-hop star Big L in 1999 shot, killed in Harlem; one of two men gunned down Thursday". New York Daily News.
  43. ^ Clark, Trent (June 25, 2016). "Big L's Alleged Killer Murdered In Harlem". HipHopDX. Retrieved November 9, 2016.
  44. ^ "Big l'S Alleged Killer Murdered in Harlem". June 25, 2016.
  45. ^ Mazariego, Omar (July 26, 2016). "Cam'Ron Hints At The Story Behind Big L's Murder In New Verse". The Latest Hip-Hop News, Music and Media | Hip-Hop Wired. Retrieved September 3, 2022.
  46. ^ ESPINOZA, JOSHUA (July 26, 2016). "Cam'ron Drops a New Verse About Big L and His Suspected Murderer". Complex. Retrieved September 3, 2022.
  47. ISBN 978-0-9989986-0-2
    .
  48. ^ Harlem World Magazine
  49. ^ "D.I.T.C. – D.I.T.C. > Overview". AllMusic. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
  50. ^ "D.I.T.C. – D.I.T.C. > Charts @ Awards > Billboard Albums". AllMusic. Retrieved November 5, 2011.
  51. MTV Networks
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  52. ^ "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. September 16, 2000. Archived from the original (XML) on April 22, 2012. Retrieved November 7, 2011.
  53. ^ "American album certifications – Big L – The Big Picture". Recording Industry Association of America. October 11, 2000. Retrieved September 29, 2011.
  54. ^ Zywietz, Tobias (May 7, 2011). "Chart Log UK: Darren B – David Byrne". Zobbel.de. Retrieved April 8, 2012.
  55. ^ a b Hanna, Mitchell (August 3, 2010). "Tuesday Rap Release Dates: Kanye West, Big L, Gucci Mane, Black Milk". HipHop DX. Cheri Media Group. Archived from the original on February 12, 2011. Retrieved November 11, 2011.
  56. ^ "139 & Lenox > Overview". AllMusic. Retrieved November 21, 2011.
  57. ^ "Charts & Awards: Big L". AllMusic. Retrieved April 29, 2011.
  58. ^ Vasquez, Andres (June 3, 2011). "Big L – The Danger Zone". HipHop DX. Cheri Media Group. Archived from the original on June 8, 2011. Retrieved June 5, 2011.
  59. ^ "L Corleone by Big L". iTunes Store. Apple. Retrieved January 28, 2012.
  60. ISSN 1063-2085
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  61. ISSN 1063-2085
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  62. ^ "Big L, Book of Rhymes, Vol. 2". XXL. 7 (45). Harris Publications. March 2003.
  63. ^ a b c "Commemorating the Life of the Legendary 'Big L'". SOB's. Archived from the original on February 4, 2005.
  64. ^ "The Source |Royce da' 5'9" Believes That Big L "was better than Jay Z"". May 10, 2017.
  65. ^ ""Flamboyant:" How Rap Legends Remember Big L 20 Years After His Death". March 28, 2019.
  66. ^ "Big L, Forever". June 2022.
  67. New York Times Company. Archived from the original
    on January 18, 2013. Retrieved February 9, 2012.
  68. ^ Herb McGruff (April 26, 2009). "The Herb McGruff Interview". Big L Online (Interview). Interviewed by Francesca Djerejian. Archived from the original on May 2, 2012.
  69. ^ a b DiBella, M.F. "Lifestylez ov da Poor and Dangerous – Big L > Review". AllMusic. Retrieved October 31, 2011.
  70. ^ Fitzgerald, Trent. "D.I.T.C. > Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved November 8, 2011.

Sources

External links

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